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Friday, October 30, 2015

Study: 7 in 10 Americans believe in solid evidence of global warming

By TY SCHOLESCronkite News

PHOENIX – Severe drought affecting many parts of the nation is
convincing skeptics of global warming to reconsider their position on
the matter.

For the first time since 2008, 7 out of 10 Americans indicate that there is solid evidence of global warming, according to a report
from the National Surveys on Energy and Environment. This is a 10
percent increase from last fall and just behind the record 72 percent in
2008. More than 60 percent of those who believe global warming evidence
cite severe drought as having a “very large effect” on their stance.

Dr. Nancy Selover, the state climatologist for Arizona, said there is
good science supporting the public’s belief in global warming, “We’re seeing warming in different areas and in some cases we’re not
necessarily seeing evidence of extreme events, but continuously warmer
temperatures,” she said, adding that drought is not a good indicator of
global warming.

“We have cycles of drought that come and go. In the 20th century, we
had a 37-year wet period that followed an extremely short dry 10 years,”
said Selover, “… and now we’re in a 21-year dry period.”

Regardless of whether drought is proof of climate change,
environmentalists are encouraged by the study’s finding of increased
acceptance of global warming.

“The misinformation that came out confused some people for a bit, but
eventually people figured it out. A lot of that is due to good
scientists getting that information out,” said Sandy Bahr, director of
the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter.

“It’s hard to get action if people don’t think there is a problem. No
matter what the problem is, you have to acknowledge that there is one.
Then, the next step is to figure out the kinds of actions that we can
take to address it,” said Bahr.The report also found:

56 percent of Republicans believe there is solid evidence of global
warming, up 9 percent from 2014. 79 percent of Democrats and 69 percent
of Independents believe in warming.

Of those who believe in global warming, a record 65 percent say they are “very confident” in their belief.

Of those doubtful of global warming, a record 34 percent say local
weather observation has “no effect” on their views. In previous surveys,
“large majorities of Americans who do not believe there is evidence of
global warming have pointed to local weather observations as the basis
for their position.”

Larky Hodges, who speaks to groups about climate change, related the issue to the tobacco industry.

“You know how long it took people to understand that cigarettes cause
cancer. And you know that was all a misinformation campaign. It’s the
exact same problem,” said the Ahwatukee resident.

Hodges said the issue should transcend political affiliations.

"If you see a flood coming down the road, you're going to be sandbagging with all of your neighbors whether they're Democrats or Republicans," she said. "We should all be in this together and people just have to look past the partisan politics and say what's best for me and my children."

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